''It was exciting to win. I didn't expect to, but dad wanted me to and I wanted to,'' said Davi, 8, a 73 1/2 -pound third-grader at St. John Vianney Catholic School in St. Cloud.

Davi, accompanied by parents David and Colleen Millsaps; sister, Brianna, 10; and 9-month-old brother, Ryder; traveled in the family's 37-foot motorhome to Hurricane Mills, Tenn., last month for age-group competition on the country singer's campground 70 miles west of Nashville.

The American Motorcycle Association-sanctioned event ''is one of the most prestigious (races) in the world,'' said Mrs. Millsaps, whose son is enthralled as much with riding as winning. ''He loves it.''

Competing in the 50-cc stock class against 41 other 7 and 8 year olds, Davi swept two heats and placed second in another to defeat runner-up Grant Moreland of Stanton, Mich., and Kyle Chisholm of Seminole.

Competition has taken Davi 15 states. He has a dozen national awards and more than 200 local trophies from the Orlando Motocross Park in Bithlo. Because the track lacks funds to spend on a supply of trophies, Davi has returned most so they may be given to others.

Davi is keen on fun, but fear is a four-letter word not yet in his vocabulary.

''It's not scary to go fast. I like it,'' said Davi, who can exceed 50 miles per hour on his motorbike.

But, like Evel Knievel and despite protective gear, Davi's career is pocked by multiple bruises and injuries.

At age 3, Davi walked away from the first of three crashes into a barbed-wire fences with shaken confidence and wet cheeks. Crash two pocked his skin with 22 tiny holes. This summer, he sustained a punctured artery after sliding from a wet track down an embankment into barbed wire again.

Injuries occur off the race track, too. His right arm was broken in a tumble from a schoolyard slide.

Davi, despite his age, is anything but a novice.

While other toddlers found tricyles under Christmas trees, 3-year-old Davi got to unwrap his first motorcycle, a collection that five years later has swollen to six bikes.

David Millsaps, competitive on the motorcycle circuit during the 1970s, enjoys having Davi adopt his passion.

''Davi's father has become a full-time mechanic keeping the bikes running. Davi simply destroys them,'' said Colleen Millsaps, estimating the family spends ''between $1,400 and $2,000'' every six months to replace bikes.

And, while fast may dictate Davi's racing technique of choice, it isn't an accurate description of how he approaches taking out garbage, or cleaning his room.